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REVIEW: From Up On Poppy Hill BD+DVD [2014-11-24]


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thecritter



Joined: 09 Nov 2003
Posts: 69
Location: Northwest GA
PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 1:53 am Reply with quote
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and respected it. I respect the review much less.
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Fronzel



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1906
PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 2:19 am Reply with quote
thecritter wrote:
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and respected it. I respect the review much less.

OH SNAP
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14871
PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 4:01 am Reply with quote
I'll just mention a couple things: Freak'n friends and their freak'n differing schedules, I'd have seen it in 4 different theaters! Laughing

And for more background:

"Miyazaki father and son team up for 'From Up on Poppy Hill' film"

  • Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli have, under their belt, some of Japan’s biggest global anime movie successes, including “Princess Mononoke” and “Spirited Away,” which won an Academy Award in 2003.

    Far less known, until now, was Miyazaki’s son Goro, who worked as a landscaper for years so as not to compete with his famous father, but later designed the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo and debuted as a director in 2006 with “Tales from Earthsea.”

    Now, for the first time, the pair has teamed up on a film, with Hayao, 72, as co-writer and 46-year-old Goro as director, overcoming a contentious relationship stretching back years.

    “From Up on Poppy Hill,” which opened in U.S. movie theaters on Friday, is set in Japan in 1963 and focuses on a high school romance threatened by a secret.

    Goro Miyazaki talked to Reuters recently about working with his father, a man he was once estranged from.

    Q: Umi, the female protagonist in “Poppy Hill,” has been raising flags for a decade for her deceased father. While yours is very much alive and well, did Umi’s longing for her dad stir up anything for you when it comes to your own famous father?

    A: The common thread between myself and the character is that the dad was always out working and was never really around. I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say that there were times when I thought that maybe my dad should have died a little earlier, just as the character did. I feel like I can really empathize with a child’s longing for an absent father.

    Q: Now that you’re working together, how closely was your father involved in the making of “Poppy Hill?”

    A: He said, “I will take care of the planning and the screenplay and everything else is your responsibility.” That was the agreement on the roles. But once we began work, he would come around, wander into the room and instead of talking to me directly, he would start looking at the artwork on the walls and mutter suggestions on how to do things a little bit this way, a little bit that way. He never came and talked to me directly.

    Q: Did you have to accept his suggestions?

    A: More often than not, his advice really hit the mark. So begrudgingly, I often had to take it.

    Q: You seem like reluctant working partners. How long does this date back to?

    A: Shortly after I started making my first film, I had a huge fight with my father. For a long time we didn’t talk. He was opposed to the idea of me directing a film. He felt that it would be ridiculous for somebody with no experience to, all of a sudden, go into directing. He would tell me about how much he had to struggle in his days to get to that place where he could have the opportunity.

    Q: What helped you reconcile?

    A: Having my (now four-year old) son - his grandson - allowed us to start talking again.

    Q: Has your last name been a help or hindrance in your career?

    A: Both. The opportunity I received to make this film obviously had something to do with the family name. But once you make the film and it goes out into the world, that name becomes a heavy burden.

    Q: Because you’re judged by the standards set by your father’s work?

    A: I think that is true. But it all comes down to how I deal with it. Until recently, I was very jaded about that whole thing, but now (I’ve turned the corner) and the reason for that actually ties in to my next project, which unfortunately I can’t disclose at the moment.

    Q: How similar are you and your father?

    A: We’re both short-tempered and also a little bit dark when it comes down to it, way down deep.

    Q: How are you not alike?

    A: This may be partly due to the different worlds that we were born into and the different generations, but Hayao Miyazaki is an idealist. He thinks in terms of how people should be, how the world should be.

    Q: Where does that stem from?

    A: That comes from the fact that he grew up in this post-war period where things were changing and people had this strong ideal about how society should behave. Those of us who were born during a time when that society was much more structured already, we can’t share that same sentiment.

    Q: This post-war period is exactly the time period “Poppy Hill” is set in. Why do you think he wrote it for you to direct?

    A: It was a time that most Japanese look fondly upon as the one time things were just right. It’s after the war and the ravages. It’s that point in history where Japan was able to enjoy a brief moment of peace.
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vanfanel



Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 1254
PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 5:55 am Reply with quote
I nearly skipped this one in the theater after the debacle that was "Tales From Earthsea" (anyone here looking forward to that review more than any other?), but one day the movie was being talked about on a local morning "wide show" here, and someone described it as being like an anime version of "Always: Sanchou-me no Yuuhi" -- which is a movie I totally love set in 1950s Tokyo (the sequels have diminishing returns, though).

The "Always" comparison really only goes as far as some good old Showa Period nostalgia, but it got my butt into the theater seat, and I was glad I went. The whole thing just made me feel good, and the following year when I was home, my parents actually watched it with me and enjoyed it!
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Doodleboy



Joined: 23 Dec 2013
Posts: 296
PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 1:50 am Reply with quote
asdqweiop wrote:
If anyone wants to listen to an interpretation of this movie that goes beyond Mike's view of this movie as rote shoujo, I really appreciated Erin Finnegan and the Ninja Consultants podcast on the film.

Link


To be quite honest I don't think their interpretation is the intended director's interpretation.

But I do love that interpretation of the movie, it adds a lot more depth to the movie. It turns what is a normal love-story into something much more subversive and controversial.

The idea that like the historical club building in the story, history should be preserved but it should also be "cleaned-up" and sanitized.

I guess it's how much you believe in death of the author.
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Jayhosh



Joined: 24 May 2013
Posts: 972
Location: Millmont, Pennsylvania
PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 10:45 am Reply with quote
This is such a wonderful film! I guess in many ways it is a "B" movie, but it just makes me so happy every time I watch it! It's just so charming. And that's all it is, a big ol' bag of lucky charms (except without those disgusting grainy things). So in terms of their slice of life output, this is probably up there in my list of favorite Ghibli films, or at least it would be, if I had one. And the music just added on top of the already large amount of warmness and nostalgia the film exuded. Upon hearing Sukiyaki mid way through the film, I hadn't even been aware that I had actually known that song all my life. So it even succeeded in bringing out some nostalgic memories for me, even though it was nostalgia from a different time and place. In fact, the whole movie's very nostalgic. It's like it allows us to long for a simpler time that we weren't even a part of.

Overall, even though I did end up liking Earthsea a bit more than I was made out to believe, this film really did show that Goro has the talent to make it as a director. I do think that everybody wouldn't be so harsh on Earthsea if he had a different last name, because really, I've seen countless other anime films that are given heaps of praise that are far more confusing. The music was at least very good. I love Terru's song. But even with that said, I think Poppy Hill showed clear improvement on Goro's part. In fact (as the reviewer stated), I feel that it was Hayao himself that slacked off here. Not that he intended to put all that much effort into it in the first place though. He was only there to give his son an outline of what he thought should have been the final product. And honestly, when it comes down to it, with a film like this you don't really need to have a complex storyline. It's the previously mentioned charm that makes this movie so enjoyable, and that's all Goro's work there.

The only problem I can think of that I have with it is the resolution. It definitely feels realistic and possible, but it was also very abrupt. And with a film as steadily paced as this one, that's kind of jarring. But otherwise a very high quality film in my eyes! Although I am curious to know, will Goro's mentioned "next project" come to light? Considering Ghibli's current frozen state, I wonder if he'd produce it somewhere else. I honestly would really like to see where he goes next, because I think Poppy Hill was a very big stepping stone. But obviously he can still use improvement.
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omiya



Joined: 21 Sep 2011
Posts: 1846
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
PostPosted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 1:34 am Reply with quote
For this review (and unlike some of the other Ghibli movies one can't assume that everyone has seen it, I haven't yet) I'd have prefered a set of spoiler tags around the mention of the photo.
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